Electric rat-trap.



A. KITA.

ELECTRIC RAT TRAP APPLICATION PILEn 11111113, 1911.

W/TNSSES noe/4.251.,

nnrrnn srATEsMPATENT oniricao ANDY KITA, OF EPTON, PENNSYLVANIA.

ELECTRIC RAT-TRAP.

To all whom t may concern .Be it known that l, ANDY Kira, a citizen of the United States of America, residing at Epton, in the county of Allegheny and State of Pennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful lmprovement-s in Electric Ratlfraps, of which the following is a specification, reference being had therein to the accompanying drawing.

This invention relates to electric rat traps, and the objects of my invention are to furnish a trap with electric means for subjecting a body of a rat to a double charge of electricity to insure a thorough extermination of life, and to provide a trap that can be safely handled and advantageously used in connectionwith wharves, storage houses and buildings infested with rodents.

With the above and other objects in View the invention resides in the novel construction, combination and arrangement of parts to be hereinafter specifically described and then claimed.

Reference will now be had to the drawing, wherein Figure 1 is a longitudinal sectional view of the trap. F ig. 2 is a horizontal sectional view of the same, and Fig. 3 is a cross sectional view of a portion of the trap.

A trap in accordance with this invention comprises a box or receptacle having a bottom plate 1, side walls 2 and 3, end walls 4 and 5 and a top plate 6.

The side wall 2, adjacent to the end wall 4, is provided with a doorway? normally closed by a hinged door 8, and this door is employed whereby easy access can be had to the'interior of the box or receptacle to remove the bodies of rodents after having life exterminated. l

The top plate 6 is provided with a longitudinal opening 9 and surrounding the upper edges of this opening are angle bars 1() supporting the frame work 11 of a cage 12, said 'cage having the end thereofopen d1- rectly above the wall 4. VThe cage 12 is preferably made of interwoven w1re, and adjacent to the closed end thereof, the frame work 11 ofthe cage has a depending bait holder 13 for a bait 14.

' The top plate 6 is braced by an angle bar 15 arranged around the upper inner edges of the walls of the box or receptacle. Arranged transversely of the box or receptacle is a pivot rod 16 having the ends thereof extending through the angle bar 15 and the p Specification of Letters Patent.

f Patented July 30, 1912.

Application rfiled June 3, 1911. I Serial No. 630,987.

walls 2 and 3. Pivotally mounted upon the transverse pivot rod 16 are the bearings 17 of a tiltable trap door 18, said door being arranged in the opening 9 with the forward end thereof resting upon the upper edge of the wall 4 and the angle bar 15. The tiltable trap door 18 is normally retained in a closed posit-ion by a retractile spring 19 r having the lower convolution thereof connected to the one side of the end wall 4, as at 20 and the upper convolution to the under side of the trap door 18.

Arranged upon the rear or inner end of the tiltable trap door 18 is a plate of insulation 21 and arranged upon the plate of insulation are contact hars 22 and 23 having i sulated compartment 27a adapted yto receive the bodies of rats. Arranged in this compartment are two tubularcontact posts 28 having the upper ends thereof beveled and provided with contact blocks 29 adapted to be engaged by the contact pieces 26. The

cont-act blocks 29 are connected by wires 30 to Contact bars 31 and 32 arranged upon the bottom of the compartment 2,7, said wires extending through the tubular posts 28.

The contact bars 31 and 32 have lateral extensions similar to the bars 22 and 23, and the bars31 and 32 are connected to leading in-wires 33 that extend through the wall 2 and the insulated lining thereof.

To facilitate a rat entering the cage 12, the end wall 4 is provided with a gang plank`34 covered with a sheet of interwoven wire 35 to facilitate the rat obtaining a foot-hold upon the gang plank. f

When a rat enters the cage 12 lto obtain the bait 14, the trap door 18 is over-balanced and when the contact pieces 26 engage the blocks 29, an electric circuit is immediately completed through the contact bars 22 and 23 and the lateral extensions thereof. The body of the rat is immediately shocked and rolls off of the lower end of the trap door 18. When the body of the rat contacts with' the bars 31 and 32 and the extensions thereof, the rat again receives va charge of blocks mounted on the under The trap door 18 is restored to its normal position through the medium of the retractlle spring 19, and it is preferable to eX- amine the trap as often as possible to re- `move the rodents body, whereby -a short circuit will be obviated and the trap again placed in condition to entrap and electrocute another rat.

lVhat I claim is 1. An electric rat tra-p.comprising a receptacle having a t-iltablc 'trap .door at its top, said trapdoor having a portion of its face provided with insulation, contact bars upon said insulation, spaced la art contact ace of said door and insulated therefrom, said contact bars and contact blocks having circuit con'- iiections, conductor posts within said receptacle, each post having its top provided with a contact block adapted to form contact with the corresponding blocks of the door when thelatter is tilted, and leading-in wires eX- tending into said receptacle and electrically connected to the post contact blocks, said leading-in wires being adapted to be connected with opposite sides of a source of energy.

9.. An electric rat trap comprising a receptacle having a tiltable trap door at its top, said trap door having a portion of its face provided withinsulation, contact bars upon said insulation, spaced-apart contact blocks mounted on the under face of said door and insulated therefrom, said contact bars and contact blockshaving circuit connections, conductor posts within said receptacle, each post having its top provided with a contact block adapted to form contact with the corresponding blocks of the door when the latter is tilted, contact bars 'positioned at the bottom of said receptacle and electrically connected to the conductors in said posts, and leading-in wires connected to said receptacle contact bars to form an electrocutin circuit, said bars forming a portion of t ecurrent path to the post cont-act plates.

3. In a rat trap and in combination a source of electric energy, a receptacle having a tilting platform, contact bars carried by said platform and insulated from each other, said bars being adapted to form terminals of an electrocuting circuit when conneet-ed with said source of energy, said bars being normally out of such connection, and

contact bars carried by the receptacle below said platform and permanently in circuit with opposite sides of said source, said platform bars being brought into the circuit connection by the tilting of the platform.

4. In a rat trap and in combination a source of electric energy, a receptacle having a tilting platform, contact bars carried by said platform and insulated from each other, said bars being adapted to form terminals of an electrocuting circuitwhen connected with said source of energ said bars being normally out of such connection, and contact bars carried by the receptacle below said platform and permanently in lcircuit with opposite sides of said source, said platform bars being brought into the circuit by the tilting of the platform, the bottom contact bars forming a portion of the current path for said connection.

5. In an electric trap, the combination with a suitable source of electrical energy, of a box, a casing located upon said box and having one end provided with a passage-way, a spring supported plat-form pivotally mounted in said casing, electrode supports below said platform, electrodes carried by and insulated from said supports and in circuit with opposite sides of said source of electrical energy, a pair of contact bars arranged upon and insulated from said platform and adapted to be placed in circuit With said electrodes when the plat-form is tilted by the weight of a rodents body.

6. In combination with a suitable source of electrical energy, of a casing having a passage-Way thereinto, a pivotally-mounted platform in said casing, means for counterbalancing the weight of said pivoted platform, electrode supports contiguous said platform, electrodes carried by and insulated from said supports and in circuit with opposite sides of said source of electrical energy, a pair of contact bars arranged upon and insulated from said platform and adapted to be placed in circuit with said electrodes when the platform is tilted by the weight of a rodents body.

ln testimony whereof l aflix my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

ANDY Kl'lA.

Vitnesses ANDY lsAKsoN, Yos KrrrA. 

